Best 960GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs
There are 5 960GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSDs compared here. The fastest is the Intel INTEL® OPTANE™ 905P at 2600 MB/s read at 960GB. Sequential reads across the group span 1600–2600 MB/s at 960GB.
Why this configuration
A 960GB PCIe 3.0 DRAM-less SSD is an affordable NVMe step up from SATA. Gen3 is roughly six times SATA's throughput yet often costs little more, making it the easy default for a first NVMe drive or a laptop that only supports Gen3.
Usually chosen for: budget builders, laptop upgraders and anyone leaving SATA behind.
Good fit: value builds and gaming where cost per gigabyte matters.
Look elsewhere for: databases, virtual machines and other sustained random-write workloads.
Ranked list
Speeds on this page are the manufacturer's 960GB ratings where published (5 of 5 drives), not the family headline figure. Rated writes at 960GB run 1400–2400 MB/s.
| # | Model | Tier | Controller | Read MB/s (at 960GB) | TBW | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Intel ® OPTANE™ 905P 500GB, 380GB, 960GB, 1.5TB | Top-tier | INTEL EAUO8D15 SLL3D (POSSIVELMENT | 2600 | 27370 | Find on Amazon |
| 2 |  Teclast NP800C 250GB, 500GB, 960GB | Mid-range | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1900 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 3 |  Western Digital SN350 250GB, 500GB, 960GB | — | — | 2400 | 80 | Find on Amazon |
| 4 |  Maxsun MS960GB 960GB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1700 | — | Find on Amazon |
| 5 |  Maxsun MS480GB 960GB | — | Silicon Motion SM2263XT (2-Core, 4 | 1600 | — | Find on Amazon |
The parts, explained
PCIe 3.0 x4 reaches about 3,500 MB/s — plenty for everyday use and gaming, and cheaper than Gen4.
DRAM-less drives use the Host Memory Buffer (HMB) instead — cheaper, and fine for everyday use and gaming, with a small penalty under heavy random writes.
Common questions
Is a DRAM-less 960GB SSD good enough?
For gaming and everyday use, yes — HMB covers those workloads well. If you run sustained heavy random writes (databases, VMs), a drive with a DRAM cache stays more consistent.